Planooraph co



.G. WALTER.

WILLOW BARK REMOVER. APPLICATION FILED APR. 12. 1918.

1,310,223. m6111611 my-15,1919.

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A TTORNE Y.

THB COLUMBIA PLANUURAPH C0., WASHINGTON. vD. 1:.

G. WALTER.

wlLLow-BARK movER. APPLICATION FILED APR12| |918'.

Patented Ju1y15, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

IN V EN TOR: l/

-A TTORNE Y.

THE CoLUMBlA PLANUGRAPH 1.1:., WASHINGTON, DA C.

G. WALTER.

WILLOW BARK REMOVER. APPLICATION FILED APR. I2. I9I8. 1,310,223, Pi'fefltd July 15, 191g.

3 SHEETS-SHEET '3.

WITNESS:

INVENTOR:

A TTORNE Y.

THE cuLuMmA PIANOGRAPH co.. WASHINGTON, n. c

GEORGE WALTER, OF 'SHELBY TOWNSHIP, RIPLEY COUNTY, INDIANA.

WILLOW-BARR REMOVER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 15, 1919.

Applicaton tiled April 12, '1918. Serial No. 228,172.

T0 all whom t may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE WALTER, a citizen of the United States, residing in Shelby township, in the county of Ripley and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Willow-,Bark Remover, of which the follgwing is a specification, reference being had `to the accompanying drawings and t0 the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to a machine for removing the bark from the elongated pendulous branches of willow trees in order to prepare the willow wood as required for provide means whereby the shipper of wil-f low branches may be enabled to advantageously ship and dispose of the branches, and particularly to obviate steaming and removing the willow bark after having become dry. A further obj ect is to provide a bark-removing machine that shall be so constructed as to have great capacity and adapted to be attended and economically operated by an unskilled attendant or a small number of attendants. A still further object is to provide a machine whereby the bark may be removed from the flexible wood ofthe willow branches without injuring the wood.

With the above-mentioned and other objects in view, the invention consists in a machine having stripper heads adapted to loosen and strip the willow bark from the willow branches when the branches are drawn between the heads, movably supported carriers adapted to carry the branches into contact with the stripper heads, and means whereby to guide the branches to the carriers, the machine preferably having also means for beating and removing particles of the bark that may adhere to the wood after having been loosened by the stripper heads. The invention consists alsov further in the novel devices, and the parts and combinations and arrangements of parts, as hereinafter particularly described and further defined in the accompanying claims.

Referring to the clrawings,-Figure l is a side elevation of a machine constructed substantially in accordance with the invention; Fig. 2 is a top plan of the machine of which duplicate mechanisms thereof are omitted; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the beater devices of the machine; Fig. 4 is a section approximately on the line IV-IV on Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a rear end elevation of the machine partially broken away to omit duplicate mechanisms thereof; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section showing the stripper devices and means for cleaning them; Fig. 7 is a fragmentary sectional detail reproducing portions of Fig. 6 on an enlarged scale with parts thereof in relatively different positions; Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of the head portion of the machine; Fig. 9 is a fragmentary detail of the device for cleaning the stripper devices; Fig. IlO is a section on the line X-X on Fig. 9; Fig. l1 is a fragmentary transverse sectional elevation of the head portion of the machine; Fig. 12 is an enlarged detail of thedevices for carrying the willow branches to the stripper heads to be operated upon; Fig. 13 i's a fragmentary section on the line XIII-XIII on Fig. 4L; Fig. Mis a plan of the carrier for the willow branches; and, Fig. 15 is a perspective view of one of the cleaner blades comprised in the beater apparatus.

Similar reference characters-in the different figures of the drawings indicate corresponding elements or features herein referred to.

As preferably constructed the bark-removing machine comprises a frame which may be of any desired or convenient length and width to accommodate multiple mechanisms or a plurality o f sets of devices which may be fed by one attendant. To this end the frame comprises suitable end portions l and 2 to which side portions or rails 3 and 4 are connected and extending forward beyond the end portion 1, the forward portions of the rails'having standards 5., 5 thereon. The frame comprises also suitable transverse members 6, 7, 8, 9, and a longitudinal side rail 10 connected with the lower portions ofthe end portionsl l and 2 of the frame.

A driving shaft 11.\is rotatably lmounted upon the side rails 3 and 4 adjacent to the forward end portion l of the frame and has a suitable pulley or wheel 12 thereon whereby ,tQA drive the shaft. Adriving sprocket wheel 13 is mounted on the shaft 11v and as preferably arranged is rotatable on the shaft andadapted on one side to have frictional contact with a clutch plate 14 that is secured to the shaft, the opposite side of the Wheel being adapted to have frictional conn tact with a friction clutch disk or plate 15 which is splined on the shaft. ,A "collar 1.6 is secured tozthe shaft and a coil spring 17 is arranged on the shaft `between the collar andthe hub of the clutch disk, whereby the wheel 13 is clutched to the shaft 11 but er* mitting it to be disconnected from the s iaft when desired. A cross-bar 18 is supported by the frame and has a suitable pivot 19 to f which a shifting-leverI 20 is connected betweenits ends, the shifting-lever having a suitable shifting fork on one end that is operatively connected with the hub yof Ithe clutch disk 15, a connecting rod 21 being pivoted to the om )osite end portion of the shifting-lever. A controlling lever 22 is pivotally 4mountedon the frame of the machine and is connected to the connecting rod 21. The lever '22 isprovided with a latch 23 to `engage a notched quadrant 24mounted on the frame, so that the clutch disk 15 may be manuallv controlled.

At the rear end of the frame a shaft 25 is mounted abovefthe member 6 and a shaft 26 is mounted Ybelow themeniber 6, the shafts having guiding sprocket wheels 27 and 28 thereon respectively, to be rotated either on or with the shafts asmay be ,preferred to arrange them. Preferably the shafts are steadied by means of a yoke 29 secured to the member G andlhaving arms 30 and 31 suitably adapted to support the shafts re` spectively.

An endless belt 32 is arranged on the driving wheel 13 and the guidel wheels 27 and 28, `the belt being of the sprocket chain type. A suitable number of shafts 33 are mounted upon the rails 3 and 4 and preferably steadiedwby means of yokes 29 and having suitable `arms as above-mentioned for supporting ,thewshafts which have vsprocket wheels 34 thereon to support and guide the upper portion of the belt 32 and prevent sagging' of the belt. A suitable number of shafts 35 are mounted below the frame rails 3 and 4 andsupport sprocket wheels 36in contact with the lower or return portion of thebelt. `One carrier belt and its driving and guidingwheels are described asbeing -,sufficient tofillustrate a gang or plurality of The carrier belt is provided with a suitable number of grippers for carrying the branches of the willow trees,-the. `grippers comprising base clamps 37, 37 respectively havingeach a stationary jaw 38 and a guide arm 39 thereon, and having also a guide ear 40 and a pivot 41 connected withl theear. A jaw 42 is movably connected with the base clamp and in respect to the jaw 38 by means of the pivot 41 andhas a controlling arm 43 preferably provided with a roller 44. A spring 45 is arranged under. compression between the arms 39 and 43 to force the jaw 42 toward the jaw 38.

For the purpose of enabling theattendant s0 to feed the willow branches to ythe grippers a feed-plate 46 is suitably mounted on the standards 5 and 5 at a suitable inclination to direct the willow branchesdownward toward the driving wheel 13the top of the feed-plate being provided withtwo loppositely arranged guides 47 and 48 to guide the branches laterally. A stop `gate-49 isl arranged near the lower Vend of the feed-plate to control the delivery of the willow branches to the grippers. The stop gate is suitably supported to swing awayto release the branches and preferably is secured to a hinge rod 50 suitably supported rotatably and having a controlling arm 51 thereon to which a suitably supported retracting spring 52 is connected, the stop gatebeing normally horizontal to be `pushed upward by means of the gripper jaws. A curved guide plate 53 is mounted on the member 18 to be engagedby. the roller 44 so las ktolmove the jaw 42 to open positiouat the proper time to receive the willow branchvand carry it away from the feedfplate, thespring 45 acting to close the gripper jawzwhen the 105 roller has passed the guide plate 53. Another guide plate 54 is mounted alsoon the member 18 ,to be engaged by the arm 39 to prevent the belt 32 andthe gripper `jaws from being swayed when ,the arm 43 is forced i 10 by the plate 53 against the spring 45.

A low platform is connected to the rear end portion of the machine frame and supports two -stems 56 and 57, at a suitable distance from the rearend of the frame, the l 'the willow barkto be loosened and stripped from the wood, without scraping orcutting the wood. A post (32 is secured to the plat- 130 forni 55, and atension bar 63 is connected thereto and also with the stripper heads 57 to yieldingly hold the head to the o posite head 56, the tension bar being pre erably composed of wood and sufliciently thin to be slightly elastic. Another post 64 is secured also to the platform 55 and supports a controlling spring 65 in contact with the bar 63.

Provision is made for retaining the willow branches between the stripper heads during operations, and provision is also made for clearing the stripper heads of gummy substance produced by the willow sap and particles of the bark which wouldtend to clog and impair the efficiency of the heads; and, to this end a movable guide is provided to retain the willow andpermit free operation of the cleaner device. Therefore one of the stripper heads is provided with an aXle stud 66 on which a star-wheel is rotatably mounted and having preferably four radial arms 67, so that one arm may normally extend horizontally across the path of the willow branch as it is drawn downward between the stripper heads. The arm is supported against downward movement by means of a latch bolt G8 mounted in the head 59 and normally projected under the arm by means of a spring 69 arranged in the head. The head suitably supports a pivot 70 on which a trigger 71 is mounted that is connected to the latch bolt for retracting the latter. Thus the grippers may place the willow branches between the stripper heads and draw the branches downward and against the arm G7 to vremove the bark, after which the grippers carry the stripped branches toward the forward end of the machine. The machine frame has a cross-bar 72 on which a curved guide Vplate 73 is mountedto be engaged by the roller 44 to move the arm 43 so as to cause the willow branch to be released from the gripper jaws, a guide plate 7 4 being mounted also on the cro-ss-bar 72 to be engaged by the arm 39 to prevent lateral deflection of the carrying belt 32 and insure proper action of the gripper jaws to drop the branches on to the ground or floor beneath the machine.

The carrier belt 32 carries a cleaner, or preferably a cleanerinadvance of each set of grippers, and each cleaner preferably comprises a base clamp 75 which isV secured to the belt 32 and has a pivot 76 thereon whereby a finger base 77 is connected to the base clamp. The base has a linger 78 there.- on adapted to be carried between the stripper heads to clear the debris therefrom, and it has also a trip finger 79 to engage the trigger 71 for retracting the latch bolt 68 to permit the finger 78 to move the guide arm 67 downward out of the path of the finger.

The finger base7 7 iis maintained in normal position by means of a spring 80 suitablyA arranged in contact with,v the base and in contact with a portion of the base clamp 75, a portion of the finger base being normally held by a spring against a stop 81 on the base clamp. For the purpose of swinging the finger 73 around so as to clear the stop gate 49, a curved guide 82 is mounted on the feed-plate 46 and adapted to guide the finger 78 around past the end of the stop gate 49 as the cleaner device is carried upward over the sprocket wheel 13. rllhe frame of the machine has a stand 8 on one side thereof which supports a suitable housing 84, which preferably is box-shaped and the top thereof is constructed as a grating 85. A plurality of shafts 8G and 87 are rotatably mounted in the housing below the grating and are provided with radially arranged fingers 33 and 88 respectively that are adapted to be moved through the openings in the grating. A sprocket wheel 89 is secured to the shaft 86 and is in connection with a sprocket chain 90 that is connected with a sprocket wheel 91 secured to the shaft 11. A sprocket wheel 92 is secured also to the shaft 86, a sprocket wheel 93 is secured to the shaft S7, and a sprocket chain 94 is connected with the sprocket wheels 92 and 93. Two knife-bars 95 and 96 are suitably 4'willow branches carried by the grippers of the machine.

1n practical use the branches of the willow tree are placed one at a time upon the feedplate 46 with the thicker end of the branch against the stop gate 49, and as the shaft 11 is driven the carrying belt 32 is moved in the direction indicated by the darts adjacent thereto, with the result that the grippers are brought from below and upward over the driving wheel 13, the grippers being properly opened as above described, and being brought into contact with the gate 49 pushes it upward and permits the willow branch to be received between the gripper jaws which become automatically closed and carry the branch rearward'to the stripper heads where they are drawn through between the heads which loosen and strip the bark from the wood, the branches being carried forward until automatically dropped from the grippers. The branches are gatheredup in bunches and placed by hand upon the grating 85 so as to be approximately parallel with respect to the shafts SG and 87, in which arrangement the fingers of the shafts beat the branches while the latter are shifted about on the gratin with the result that particles of loosened ark which may adhere to the wood are removed, leaving the branches in proper condition for shipment I-Iaving thus described the invention, what is claimed as new isl. Ahwillow bark remover including apair oi stripper heads, a separate feed-guide provided with ainovable stop gate, a carrier belt to operatebetween the feed-guide and thestripper, heads, and grippers mounted on the carrier belt to be carried past the feedguide and to engage and move the stop, gate from normal position.

2. A willow bark remover including cooperating stripper heads, controllable movablemeans i'or` gripping and carrying the willow to and between the stripper heads, controllable guiding, devices controlledby the `movable means to deliver and to guide the willow to the movable means, means for controlling the, movable means to receive the willow, and means for Icontrollingthe movable means to release the willow.

3. yA willow ybark remover including a frame, a feed-guide provided with a movable stop gate at one end portion of the frame, stripper devices at the` opposite end portion of the `frame, an endless belt to operate on the ramebetween the ,feed-guide and the stripperdevices, grippers carried by the belt past the stripper devices and adapted toengage and move the stop gate from normal position, and a cleaner device mounted on the belt to be carried therebyMinto contact with the stripper devices.

4. In a willow bark removerthe Vcombination of stripping apparatus .comprising two uprightly-supported stripper heads, one of the heads being yieldinglyforced toward theother, av guide arm supported horizontally by one and extending approximately to the other of the stripper heads, andan endless carrier belt,to,operateadjacent to the stripper heads, with a devicelcarried by the belt adapted to carry the willow between the stripper heads and across the guidearm.

5. In a willow ,bark remover, the combination with a driving wheel and two guide wheels arranged one below the other, Vor a carrier belt extending about said wheelsto be driven by the driving wheel, a .pair of coperating stripper heads supported adjacent to the guide wheels, a gripper device mounted on the carrier belt to carry they willow to the stripper heads, and a cleaner comprising a finger having a base secured to the carrier belt to ,enable the belt tocarry the finger betweenthe stripper heads.

6. In a willow bark remover, ,thecombination with a .driving wheeh aguide wheel, and a belt mounted .on said wheels to.be operated bythe driving wheel, of a platform supported in proximity to .the guide wheel, twostripper heads` having stems .supported upon` the platform, one of the stems being slightlyelastic to hold thetstripper head yieldingly tothe remaining one fof saidheads, a' `spring havingsupport ,on said platforml'for controlling the elasticityoi" said stem, and a carriermounted on said belt toV carry the willow tothe Stripper heads.

7-.- In aw.illow bark remover, the combination with, a driving ysprocket wheel, a guide wheel, and a plurality of coperating stripper devices supported adjacent to the guide wheel, of ya sprocket chain extending about said-wheels to be driven by the drivingsprocket wheel, a base clamp secured to-the sprocket. chain and having a pivot and` also; a pair of gripper jaws thereon, oneiofwthejaws beingconnected with the pivot, each.jaw being provided with an arm, a supported springengagingthe arm of-the pivoted jaw, and stationary guides to. Abe..engaged by the arms of said jaws respectively to control the jaws.

S. In a willowzbark remover, the combination.with. a driving wheel, a guide wheel, and` stripping. devices supported in proximity tothe guide wheel',` of a feed-plate supportedat an inclination with its lower end adjacent tothe driving ywheel and having. a pair of guides thereon, a stop gate pivotallyconnected withthe feed-plate and normally, extending between the lower end thereof and thezdriving wheel, a .belt extending about. said wheels to be operated by thefdriving wheel, and a carrying device mounted on said `belt tobe carried into engagemenhwith the stop gate to move said gate away from thelower end of said feedplate.

. 9. In a willow bark remover, the combination, with a` driving wheel, a guide wheel, and stripping devices in proximity to the guidel wheel, of a `feed-plate in proximity to the driving wheel and having a movable. stop gate thereon, a; belt Vextending about said `wheels `to be operated by the driving wheel, a carrying device mounted on said/belt to convey the willow from the :feed-plate` to the stripping devices, a cleaner for. the stripping devices mounted on lsaid belt and having a movable linger to operateon the devices, and a curved guide supportedu in proximity to thedriving wheel to` be lengaged, by said finger toimove `the linger4 aside` in passing said stop gate.

l0. In a willow bark remover, .the .combination with a feed-guide, and a separate stripping means, of a carrier vbelt mounted to operate between the feed-guide and the stripping means, a plurality of pairs of stationary guides, Aand gripperv devices comprising abase clamp secured to the carrier beltand having a jaw rigid thereon, the jawi; being, provided with an arm to be carried into contact, with, one of each of the pairs of I, stationary guides, a, movable jaw pivotally connected with the base clamp and provided with an operating arm to be carried into Contact with the remaining one of each of the pairs of stationary guides, and a spring under compression between the arms of the jaws.

11. In a willow bark remover, the oom- -bination of a stationary stripper head, a

movable stripper head, a wheel having guide arms and rotatably mounted on. said movable head, a latch bolt mounted in said movable head and spring-pressed to engage and stop said wheel, a trigger mounted on said movable head and connected to the latch bolt, a carrier belt movably guided to operate adjacent to said heads, a carrier mounted on said belt, and a cleaner mounted on said belt and having a flnger to be carried between said heads and toward one of said guide arms, the cleaner having also a trip device thereon to engage said trigger and thereby retract the latch bolt from said wheel.

In testimony whereof I ailix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE WALTER. Witnesses:

JOHN QUBBE, JOHN Smm. f

Copies o: this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G3 

